Toyota Hilux

About

As of 2026, it's 43 years old.

Some trucks are tough. The Toyota Hilux is the one that became a global byword for 'literally cannot be killed.' Launched in 1968 and bulletproofed across generations, the Hilux earned a reputation in deserts, war zones, farms, and frozen tundra as the vehicle that simply refuses to stop, no matter what cruelty you inflict on it.

The fourth generation (1983–1988) is the stuff of legend, thanks largely to Top Gear. Jeremy Clarkson bought a high-mileage diesel example and tried his absolute hardest to destroy it: he drove it down stairs, crashed it into a tree, drowned it in the sea, set it on fire, and finally perched it atop a building being demolished. After every assault, it started.

Mechanically it's gloriously honest — a stout 2.2-liter (or 3.0L diesel) engine, simple four-wheel drive, and a ladder frame built to be abused and ignored, then run for a quarter-million miles on attitude alone. No frills, no fragility, just relentless competence.

From Outback stations to Antarctic expeditions to, frankly, places we shouldn't mention, the Hilux is the truck the whole world trusts when failure isn't an option. It's not the fastest or the fanciest — it's the one that's still running when everything else has quit.

Toyota Hilux through the years